Encyclical Document # 5 - CHRISTIFIDELES LAICI — Apostolic Constitution: On the Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World (Pope John Paul II) 1988

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advancement, is peace. The lay faithful cannot remain indifferent or be strangers and inactive in
the face of all that denies and compromises peace, namely, violence and war, torture and
terrorism, concentration camps, militarization of public life, the arms race, and the nuclear threat.
On the contrary, as disciples of Jesus Christ, "Prince of Peace" (Is 9:5) and "Our Peace" (Eph
2:14), the lay faithful ought to take upon themselves the task of being "peacemakers" (Mt 5:9),
both through a conversion of "heart", justice and charity, all of which are the undeniable foundation
of peace[155].

The lay faithful in working together with all those that truly seek peace and themselves serving in
specific organizations as well as national and international institutions, ought to promote an
extensive work of education intended to defeat the ruling culture of egoism, hate, the vendetta and
hostility, and thereby to develop the culture of solidarity at every level. Such solidarity, in fact, "is
the way to peace and at the same time to development"[156]. From this perspective the Synod
Fathers have invited Christians to reject as unacceptable all forms of violence, to promote
attitudes of dialogue and peace and to commit themselves to establish a just international and
social order[157].

Placing the Individual at the Center of Socio-Economic Life

43. Service to society on the part of the lay faithful finds its essence in the socio-economic
question, which depends on the organization of work.

Recently recalled in the Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, is the seriousness of present problems
as they relate to the subject of development and a proposed solution according to the social
doctrine of the Church. I warmly desire to again refer its contents to all, in particular, to the lay
faithful.

The basis for the social doctrine of the Church is the principle of the universal destination of
goods. According to the plan of God the goods of the earth are offered to all people and to each
individual as a means towards the development of a truly human life. At the service of this
destination of goods is private property, which -precisely for this purpose-possesses an intrinsic
social function. Concretely the work of man and woman represents the most common and most
immediate instrument for the development of economic life, an instrument that constitutes at one
and the same time a right and a duty for every individual.

Once again, all of this comes to mind in a particular way in the mission of the lay faithful. The
Second Vatican Council formulates in general terms the purpose and criterion of their presence
and their action: "In the socio-economic realm the dignity and total vocation of the human person
must be honoured and advanced along with the welfare of society as a whole, for man is the
source, the center, and the purpose of all socio-economic life"[158].

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In the context of the tranformations taking place in the world of economy and work which are a
cause of concern, the lay faithful have the responsibility of being in the forefront in working out a
solution to the very serious problems of growing unemployment; to fight for the most opportune
overcoming of numerous injustices that come from organizations of work which lack a proper goal;
to make the workplace become a community of persons respected in their uniqueness and in their
right to participation; to develop new solidarity among those that participate in a common work; to
raise up new forms of entrepreneurship and to look again at systems of commerce, finance and
exchange of technology.

To such an end the lay faithful must accomplish their work with professional competence, with
human honesty, and with a Christian spirit, and especially as a way of their own
sanctification[159], according to the explicit invitation of the Council: "By work an individual
ordinarily provides for self and family, is joined in fellowship to others, and renders them service;
and is enabled to exercise genuine charity and be a partner in the work of bringing divine creation
to perfection. Moreover, we know that through work offered to God an individual is associated with
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, whose labour with his hands at Nazareth greatly ennobled
the dignity of work"[160].

Today in an ever-increasingly acute way, the so-called "ecological" question poses itself in relation
to socio-economic life and work Certainly humanity has received from God himself the task of
"dominating" the created world and "cultivating the garden" of the world. But this is a task that
humanity must carry out in respect for the divine image received, and, therefore, with intelligence
and with love, assuming responsibility for the gifts that God has bestowed and continues to
bestow. Humanity has in its possession a gift that must be passed on to future generations, if
possible, passed on in better condition. Even these future generations are the recipients of the
Lord's gifts: "The dominion granted to humanity by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can
one speak of a freedom to 'use and misuse', or to dispose of things as one pleases. The limitation
imposed from the beginning by the Creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition
not to 'eat of the fruit of the tree' (cf. Gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the
natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be
violated with impunity. A true concept of development cannot ignore the use of the things of
nature, the renewability of resources and the consequences of haphazard industrialization-three
considerations which alert our consciences to the moral dimension of development"[161].

Evangelizing Culture and the Cultures of Humanity

44. Service to the individual and to human society is expressed and finds its fulfilment through the
creation and the transmission of culture, which especially in our time constitutes one of the more
serious tasks of living together as a human family and of social evolution. In light of the Council,
we mean by "culture" all those "factors which go to the refining and developing of humanity's
diverse spiritual and physical endowments. It means the efforts of the human family to bring the

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world under its control through its knowledge and its labour; to humanize social life both in the
family and in the whole civic community through the improvement of customs and institutions; to
express through its works the great spiritual experiences and aspirations of all peoples throughout
the ages; finally, to communicate and to preserve them to be an inspiration for the progress of
many, indeed of the whole human race"[162]. In this sense, culture must be held as the common
good of every people, the expression of its dignity, liberty and creativity, and the testimony of its
course through history. In particular, only from within and through culture does the Christian faith
become a part of history and the creator of history.

The Church is fully aware of a pastoral urgency that calls for an absolutely special concern for
culture in those circumstances where the development of a culture becomes disassociated not
only from Christian faith but even from human values[163], as well as in those situations where
science and technology are powerless in giving an adequate response to the pressing questions
of truth and well-being that burn in people's hearts. For this reason the Church calls upon the lay
faithful to be present, as signs of courage and intellectual creativity, in the privileged places of
culture, that is, the world of education-school and university-in places of scientific and
technological research, the areas of artistic creativity and work in the humanities. Such a presence
is destined not only for the recognition and possible purification of the elements that critically
burden existing culture, but also for the elevation of these cultures through the riches which have
their source in the Gospel and the Christian faith. The extensive treatment by the Second Vatican
Council of the rapport between the Gospel and culture represents a constant historic fact and at
the same time serves as a working ideal of particular and immediate urgency. It is a challenging
programme given as a pastoral responsibility to the entire Church, but in a specific way to the lay
faithful in her. "The good news of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen humanity; it
combats and removes the error and evil which flow from the attraction of sin which are a perpetual
threat. She never ceases to purify and to elevate the morality of peoples... In this way the Church
carries out her mission and in that very act she stimulates and makes her contribution to human
and civic culture. By her action, even in its liturgical forms, she leads people to interior
freedom"[164].

Some particularly significant citations from Paul VI's Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi merit
recollection here: "The Church evangelizes when she seeks to convert, solely through the divine
power of the message she proclaims (cf. Rom 1:16; 1 Cor 1:18; 2:4), both the personal and
collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, and the lives and concrete
milieux which are theirs. Strata of humanity are transformed: for the Church it is a question not
only of preaching the Gospel in ever-wider geographic areas or to ever-greater numbers of people,
but also of affecting and as it were challenging, through the power of the Gospel, mankind's
criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration
and models of life, which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation. All this
could be expressed in the following words: What matters is to evangelizehumanity's culture and
the cultures of the human family... the split between the Gospel and culture is without a doubt the

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drama of our time, just as it was of other times. Therefore, every effort must be made to ensure a
full evangelization of culture, or more correctly of cultures"[165].

The privileged way at present for the creation and transmission of culture is the means of social
communications[166]. The world of the massmedia represents a new frontier for the mission of the
Church, because it is undergoing a rapid and innovative development and has an extensive
worldwide influence on the formation of mentality and customs. In particular, the lay faithful's
responsibility as professionals in this field, exercised both by individual right and through
community initiatives and institutions, demands a recognition of all its values, and demands that it
be sustained by more adequate resource materials, both intellectual and pastoral.

The use of these instruments by professionals in communication and their reception by the public
demand both a work of education in a critical sense, which is animated by a passion for the truth,
and a work of defence of liberty, respect for the dignity of individuals, and the elevation of the
authentic culture of peoples which occurs through a firm and courageous rejection of every form of
monopoly and manipulation.

However, the pastoral responsibility among the lay faithful does not stop with this work of defence.
It extends to everyone in the world of communications, even to those professional people of the
press, cinema, radio, television and theatre. These also are called to proclaim the gospel that
brings salvation.

CHAPTER IV

LABOURERS IN THE LORD'S VINEYARD
Good Stewards of God's Varied Grace

The Variety of Vocations

45. According to the gospel parable, the "householder" calls the labourers for his vineyard at
various times during the day: some at dawn, others about nine in the morning, still others about
midday and at three, the last, around five (cf. Mt 20:1 ff.). In commenting on these words of the
gospel, Saint Gregory the Great makes a comparison between the various times of the call and
the different stages in life: "It is possible to compare the different hours", he writes, "to the various
stages in a person's life. According to our analogy the morning can certainly represent childhood.
The third hour, then, can refer to adolescence; the sun has now moved to the height of heaven,
that is, at this stage a person grows in strength. The sixth hour is adulthood, the sun is in the
middle of the sky, indeed at this age the fullness of vitality is obvious. Old age represents the ninth
hour, because the sun starts its descent from the height of heaven, thus the youthful vitality begins
to decline. The eleventh hour represents those who are most advanced in years... The labourers,
then, are called and sent forth into the vineyard at different hours, that is to say, one is led to a

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holy life during childhood, another in adolescence, another in adulthood and another in old
age"[167].

We can make a further application of the comments of Saint Gregory the Great to the
extraordinary variety of ways the Church becomes "present" in life; one and all are called to work
for the coming of the Kingdom of God according to the diversity of callings and situations,
charisms and ministries. This variety is not only linked to age, but also to the difference of sex and
to the diversity of natural gifts, as well as to careers and conditions affecting a person's life. It is a
variety that makes the riches of the Church more vital and concrete.

Young People, Children and Older People

Youth, the Hope of the Church

46. The Synod wished to give particular attention to the young. And rightly so. In a great many
countries of the world, they represent half of entire populations, and often constitute in number half
of the People of God itself living in those countries. Simply from this aspect youth make up an
exceptional potential and a great challenge for the future of the Church. In fact the Church sees
her path towards the future in the youth, beholding in them a reflection of herself and her call to
that blessed youthfulness which she constantly enjoys as a result of Christ's Spirit. In this sense
the Council has defined youth as "the hope of the Church"[168].

In the letter of 31 March 1985 to young men and women in the world we read: "The Church looks
to the youth, indeed the Church in a special way looks at herself in the youth, in all of you and in
each of you. It has been so from the beginning, from apostolic times. The words of St. John in his
First Letter can serve as special testimony: 'I am writing to you, young people, because you have
overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father... I write to you,
young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you (1 Jn 2:13 ff.)... In our
generation, at the end of the Second Millennium after Christ, the Church also sees herself in the
youth"[169].

Youth must not simply be considered as an object of pastoral concern for the Church: in fact,
young people are and ought to be encouraged to be active on behalf of the Church as leading
characters in evangelization and participants in the renewal of society.[170]. Youth is a time of an
especially intensive discovery of a "self" and "a choice of life". It is a time for growth which ought to
progress "in wisdom, age and grace before God and people" (Lk 2:52).

The Synod Fathers have commented: "The sensitivity of young people profoundly affects their
perceiving of the values of justice, nonviolence and peace. Their hearts are disposed to fellowship,
friendship and solidarity. They are greatly moved by causes that relate to the quality of life and the
conservation of nature. But they are troubled by anxiety, deceptions, anguishes and fears of the

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world as well as by the temptations that come with their state"[171].

The Church must seek to rekindle the very special love displayed by Christ towards the young
man in the Gospel: "Jesus, looking upon him, loved him" (Mk 10:21). For this reason the Church
does not tire of proclaiming Jesus Christ, of proclaiming his Gospel as the unique and satisfying
response to the most deep-seated aspirations of young people, as illustrated in Christ's forceful
and exalted personal call to discipleship ("Come and follow me." Mk 10:21), that brings about a
sharing in the filial love of Jesus for his Father and the participation in his mission for the salvation
of humanity.

The Church has so much to talk about with youth, and youth have so much to share with the
Church. This mutual dialogue, by taking place with great cordiality, clarity and courage, will provide
a favorable setting for the meeting and exchange between generations, and will be a source of
richness and youthfulness for the Church and civil society. In its message to young people the
Council said: "The Church looks to you with confidence and with love... She is the real
youthfulness of the world... Look upon the Church and you will find in her the face of Christ"[172].

Children and the Kingdom of Heaven

47. Children are certainly the object of the Lord Jesus' tender and generous love. To them he gave
his blessing, and, even more, to them he promised the Kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 19:13-15; Mk
10:14). In particular Jesus exalted the active role that little ones have in the Kingdom of God. They
are the eloquent symbol and exalted image of those moral and spiritual conditions that are
essential for entering into the Kingdom of God and for living the logic of total confidence in the
Lord: "Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children. vou will never enter the
Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of
heaven" (Mt 18, 3-5; cf. Lk 9:48).

Children are a continual reminder that the missionary fruitfulness of the Church has its life-giving
basis not in human means and merits, but in the absolute gratuitous gift of God. The life itself of
innocence and grace of many children, and even the suffering and oppression unjustly inflicted
upon them are in virtue of the Cross of Christ a source of spiritual enrichment for them and for the
entire Church. Everyone ought to be more conscious and grateful for this fact.

Furthermore, it must be acknowledged that valuable possibilities exist even in the life's stages of
infancy and childhood, both for the building up of the Church and for making society more
humane. How often the Council referred to the beneficial and constructive affects for the family,
"the domestic Church", through the presence of sons and daughters: "Children as living members
of the family, contribute in their in their own way to the sanctification of their parents"[173]. The
Council's words must also be repeated about children in relation to the local and universal Church.
John Gerson, a great theologian and educator of the 15th Century, had already emphasized this

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fact in stating that "children and young people are in no way a negligible part of the Church"[174].

Older People and the Gift of Wisdom

48. I now address older people, oftentimes unjustly considered as unproductive, if not directly an
insupportable burden. I remind older people that the Church calls and expects them to continue to
exercise their mission in the apostolic and missionary life. This is not only a possibility for them,
but it is their duty even in this time in their life when age itself provides opportunities in some
specific and basic way.

The Bible delights in presenting the older person as the symbol of someone rich in wisdom and
fear of the Lord (cf. Sir 25:4-6). In this sense the "gift" of older people can be specifically that of
being the witness to tradition in the faith both in the Church and in society (cf. Ps 44: 2; Ex 12:26-
27), the teacher of the lessons of life (cf. Sir 6:34; 8:11-12), and the worker of charity.

At this moment the growing number of older people in different countries worldwide and the
expected retirement of persons from various professions and the workplace provides older people
with a new opportunity in the apostolate. Involved in the task is their determination to overcome
the temptation of taking refuge in a nostalgia in a never-to-return past or fleeing from present
responsibility because of difficulties encountered in a world of one novelty after another. They
must always have a clear knowledge that one's role in the Church and society does not stop at a
certain age at all, but at such times knows only new ways of application. As the Psalmist says:
"They still bring forth fruit in old age, they are ever full of sap and green, to show that the Lord is
upright" (Ps 92:15-16). I repeat all that I said during the celebration of the Older People's Jubilee:
"Arriving at an older age is to be considered a privilege: not simply because not everyone has the
good fortune to reach this stage in life, but also, and above all, because this period provides real
possibilities for better evaluating the past, for knowing and living more deeply the Paschal Mystery,
for becoming an example in the Church for the whole People of God... Despite the complex nature
of the problems you face: a strength that progressively diminishes, the insufficiencies of social
organizations, official legislation that comes late, or the lack of understanding by a self-centered
society, you are not to feel yourselves as persons underestimated in the life of the Church or as
passive objects in a fast-paced world, but as participants at a time of life which is humanly and
spiritually fruitful. You still have a mission to fulfill, a contribution to make. According to the divine
plan, each individual human being lives a life of continual growth, from the beginning of existence
to the moment at which the last breath is taken"[175].

Women and Men

49. The Synod Fathers gave special attention to the status and role of women, with two purposes
in mind: to themselves acknowledge and to invite all others to once again acknowledge the
indispensable contribution of women to the building up of the Church and the development of

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society. They wished as well to work on a more specific analysis of women's participation in the
life and mission of the Church.

Making reference to Pope John XXIII, who saw women's greater consciousness of their proper
dignity and their entrance into public life as signs of our times[176], the Synod Fathers, when
confronted with the various forms of discrimination and marginization to which women are
subjected simply because they are women, time and time again strongly affirmed the urgency to
defend and to promote the personal dignity of woman, and consequently, her equality with man.

If anyone has this task of advancing the dignity of women in the Church and society, it is women
themselves, who must recognize their responsibility as leading characters. There is still much
effort to be done, in many parts of the world and in various surroundings, to destroy that unjust
and deleterious mentality which considers the human being as a thing, as an object to buy and
sell, as an instrument for selfish interests or for pleasure only. Women themselves, for the most
part, are the prime victims of such a mentality. Only through openly acknowledging the personal
dignity of women is the first step taken to promote the full participation of women in Church life as
well as in social and public life. A more extensive and decisive response must be given to the
demands made in the Exhortation Familiaris Consortio concerning the many discriminations of
which women are the victims: "Vigorous and incisive pastoral action must be taken by all to
overcome completely these forms of discrimination so that the image of God that shines in all
human beings without exception may be fully respected"[177]. Along the same lines, the Synod
Fathers stated: "As an expression of her mission the Church must stand firmly against all forms of
discrimination and abuse of women"[178]. And again: "The dignity of women, gravely wounded in
public esteem, must be restored through effective respect for the rights of the human person and
by putting the teaching of the Church into practice"179].

In particular when speaking of active and responsible participation in the life and mission of the
Church, emphasis should be placed on what has already been stated and clearly urged by the
Second Vatican Council: "Since in our days women are taking an increasingly active share in the
whole life of society, it is very important that they participate more widely also in the various fields
of the Church's apostolate"[180].

The awareness that women with their own gifts and tasks have their own specific vocation, has
increased and been deepened in the years following the Council and has found its fundamental
inspiration in the Gospel and the Church's history. In fact, for the believer the Gospel, namely, the
word and example of Jesus Christ, remains the necessary and decisive point of reference. In no
other moment in history is this fact more fruitful and innovative.

Though not called to the apostolate of the Twelve, and thereby, to the ministerial priesthood, many
women, nevertheless, accompanied Jesus in his ministry and assisted the group of Apostles (cf.
Lk 8:2-3), were present at the foot of the Cross (cf. Lk 23:49), assisted at the burial of Christ (cf. Lk

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23:55) received and transmitted the message of resurrection on Easter morn (cf. Lk 24:1-10), and
prayed with the apostles in the Cenacle awaiting Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:14).

From the evidence of the Gospel, the Church at its origin detached herself from the culture of the
time and called women to tasks connected with spreading the gospel. In his letters the Apostle
Paul even cites by name a great number of women for their various functions in service of the
primitive Christian community (cf. Rom 16:1-15; Phil 4:2-3; Col 4:15 and 1 Cor 11:5; 1 Tim 5:16).
"If the witness of the Apostles founds the Church", stated Paul VI, "the witness of women
contributes greatly towards nourishing the faith of Christian communities"[181].

Both in her earliest days and in her successive development the Church, albeit in different ways
and with diverse emphases, has always known women who have exercised an oftentimes decisive
role in the Church herself and accomplished tasks of considerable value on her behalf. History is
marked by grand works, quite often lowly and hidden, but not for this reason any less decisive to
the growth and the holiness of the Church. It is necessary that this history continue, indeed that it
be expanded and intensified in the face of the growing and widespread awareness of the personal
dignity of woman and her vocation, particularly in light of the urgency of a "re-evangelization" and
a major effort towards "humanizing" social relations.

Gathering together the pronouncements of the Second Vatican Council, which reflect the Gospel's
message and the Church's history, the Synod Fathers formulated, among others, this precise
"recommendation": "It is necessary that the Church recognize all the gifts of men and women for
her life and mission, and put them into practice"[182]. And again, "This Synod proclaims that the
Church seeks the recognition and use of all the gifts, experiences and talents of men and women
to make her mission effective (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on
Christian Freedom and Liberation, 72)"[183].

Anthropological and Theological Foundations

50. The condition that will assure the rightful presence of woman in the Church and in society is a
more penetrating and accurate consideration of the anthropological foundation for masculinity and
femininity with the intent of clarifying woman's personal identity in relation to man, that is, a
diversity yet mutual complementarity, not only as it concerns roles to be held and functions to be
performed, but also, and more deeply, as it concerns her make-up and meaning as a person.

The Synod Fathers have deeply felt this requirement, maintaining that "the anthropological and
theological foundations for resolving questions about the true significance and dignity of each sex
require deeper study"[184].

Through committing herself to a reflection on the anthropological and theological basis of
femininity, the Church enters the historic process of the various movements for the promotion of

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woman, and, in going to the very basic aspect of woman as a personal being, provides her most
precious contribution. But even before this the Church intends, in such a way, to obey God, who
created the individual "in his image", "male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27) and who
intended that they would accept the call of God to come to know, reverence and live his plan. It is
a plan that "from the beginning" has been indelibly imprinted in the very being of the human
person-men and women-and, therefore, in the make-up, meaning and deepest workings of the
individual. This most wise and loving plan must be explored to discover all its richness of content-a
richness that "from the beginning" came to be progressively manifested and realized in the whole
history of salvation, and was brought to completion in "the fullness of time", when "God sent his
Son, born of a woman" (Gal 4:4). That "fullness" continues in history: God's plan for woman is read
and is to be read within the context of the faith of the Church, and also, in the lives lived by so
many Christian women today. Without forgetting the help that can come from different human
sciences and cultures, researchers because of an informed discernment, will be able to help
gather and clarify the values and requirements that belong to the enduring essential aspects of
women and those bound to evolve in history. The Second Vatican Council reminds us: "The
Church maintains that beneath all changes there are many realities which do not change; these
find their ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (cf. Heb
13:8)"[185]. The Apostolic Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Woman gives much attention to
the anthropological and theological foundation of woman's dignity as a person. The document
seeks to again treat and develop the catechetical reflections of the Wednesday General
Audiences devoted over a long period of time to the "theology of the body", while at the same time
fulfilling a promise made in the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater[186] and serving as a response to
the request of the Synod Fathers.

May the reading of the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, in particular, as a biblical theological
meditation, be an incentive for everyone, both women and men, and especially for those who
devote their lives to the human sciences and theological disciplines, to pursue on the basis of the
personal dignity of man and woman and their mutual relationship, a critical study to better and
more deeply understand the values and specific gifts of femininity and masculinity, not only in the
surroundings of social living but also and above all in living as Christians and as members of the
Church.

This meditation on the anthropological and theological foundations of women ought to enlighten
and guide the Christian response to the most frequently asked questions, oftentimes so crucial, on
the "place" that women can have and ought to have in the Church and in society.

It is quite clear from the words and attitude of Christ, which are normative for the Church, that no
discrimination exists on the level of an individual's relation to Christ, in which "there is neither male
nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28) and on the level of participation in the
Church's life of grace and holiness, as Joel's prophecy fulfilled at Pentecost wonderfully attests: "I
will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophecy" (Joel 3:1; cf. Acts 2:17

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ff). As the Apostolic Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Woman reads: "Both women and men ...
are equally capable of receiving the outpouring of divine truth and love in the Holy Spirit. Both
receive his salvific and sanctifying 'visits'"[187].

Mission in the Church and in the World

51. In speaking about participation in the apostolic mission of the Church, there is no doubt that in
virtue of Baptism and Confirmation, a woman-as well as a man-is made a sharer in the threefold
mission of Jesus Christ, Priest, Prophet and King, and is thereby charged and given the ability to
fulfill the fundamental apostolate of the Church: evangelization. However, a woman is called to put
to work in this apostolate the "gifts" which are properly hers: first of all, the gift that is her very
dignity as a person exercised in word and testimony of life, gifts therefore, connected with her
vocation as a woman.

In her participation in the life and mission of the Church a woman cannot receive the Sacrament of
Orders, and therefore, cannot fulfil the proper function of the ministerial priesthood. This is a
practice that the Church has always found in the expressed will of Christ, totally free and
sovereign, who called only men to be his apostles[188]; a practice that can be understood from the
rapport between Christ, the Spouse, and his Bride, the Church[189]. Here we are in the area of
function, not of dignity and holiness. In fact, it must be maintained: "Although the Church
possesses a 'hierarchical' structure, nevertheless this structure is totally ordered to the holiness of
Christ's members"[190].

However, as Paul VI has already said, "We cannot change what our Lord did, nor his call to
women; but we can recognize and promote the role of women in the mission of evangelization and
in the life of the Christian community[191].

Above all the acknowledgment in theory of the active and responsible presence of woman in the
Church must be realized in practice. With this in mind this Exhortation addressed to the lay faithful
with its deliberate and repeated use of the terms "women and men", must be read. Furthermore
the revised Code of Canon Law contains many provisions on the participation of women in the life
and mission of the Church: they are provisions that must be more commonly known and,
according to the diverse sensibilities of culture and opportuneness in a pastoral situation, be
realized with greater timeliness and determination.

An example comes to mind in the participation of women on diocesan and parochial Pastoral
Councils as well as Diocesan Synods and particular Councils. In this regard the Synod Fathers
have written: "Without discrimination women should be participants in the life of the Church, and
also in consultation and the process of coming to decisions"[192].And again: "Women, who
already hold places of great importance in transmitting the faith and offering every kind of service
in the life of the Church, ought to be associated in the preparation of pastoral and missionary

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documents and ought to be recognized as cooperators in the mission of the church in the family, in
professional life and in the civil community"[193].

In the more specific area of evangelization and catechesis the particular work that women have in
the transmission of the faith, not only in the family but also in the various educational
environments, is to be more strongly fostered. In broader terms, this should be applied in all that
regard embracing the Word of God, its understanding and its communication, as well as its study,
research and theological teaching.

While she is to fulfill her duty to evangelize, woman is to feel more acutely her need to be
evangelized. Thus, with her vision illumined by faith (cf. Eph 1:18), woman is to be able to
distinguish what truly responds to her dignity as a person and to her vocation from all that, under
the pretext of this "dignity" and in the name of "freedom" and "progress", militates against true
values. On the contrary, these false values become responsible for the moral degradation of the
person, the environment and society. This same "discernment", made possible and demanded
from Christian women's participation in the prophetic mission of Christ and his Church, recurs with
continued urgency throughout history. This "discernment", often mentioned by the Apostle Paul, is
not only a matter of evaluating reality and events in the light of faith, but also involves a real
decision and obligation to employ it, not only in Church life but also in human society.

It can be said that the problems of today's world already cited in the second part of the Council's
Constitution Gaudium et Spes, which remain unresolved and not at all affected by the passage of
time, must witness the presence and commitment of women with their irreplaceable and
customary contributions.

In particular, two great tasks entrusted to women merit the attention of everyone.

First of all, the task of bringing full dignity to the conjugal lite and to motherhood. Today new
possibilities are opened to women for a deeper understanding and a richer realization of human
and Christian values implied in the conjugal life and the experience of motherhood. Man himself-
husband and father-can be helped to overcome forms of absenteeism and of periodic presence as
well as a partial fulfilment of parental responsibilities-indeed he can be involved in new and
significant relations of interpersonal communion-precisely as a result of the intelligent, loving and
decisive intervention of woman.

Secondly, women have the task of assuring the moral dimension of culture, the dimension, namely
of a culture worthy of the person, of an individual yet social life. The Second Vatican Council
seems to connect the moral dimension of culture with the participation of the lay faithful in the
kingly mission of Christ: "Let the lay faithful by their combined efforts remedy the institutions and
conditions of the world when the latter are an inducement to sin, that all such things may be
conformed to the norms of justice, and may favor the practice of virtue rather than hindering it. By

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so doing, they will infuse culture and human works with a moral value"[194].

As women increasingly participate more fully and responsibly in the activities of institutions which
are associated with safeguarding the basic duty to human values in various communities, the
words of the Council just quoted point to an important field in the apostolate of women: in all
aspects of the life of such communities, from the socio-economic to the sociopolitical dimension,
the personal dignity of woman and her specific vocation ought to be respected and promoted.
Likewise this should be the case in living situations not only affecting the individual but also
communities, not only in forms left to personal freedom and responsibility, but even in those
guaranteed by just civil laws.

"It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a helper fit for him" (Gen 2:18). God entrusted
the human being to woman. Certainly, every human being is entrusted to each and every other
human being, but in a special way the human being is entrusted to woman, precisely because the
woman in virtue of her special experience of motherhood is seen to have a specific sensitivity
towards the human person and all that constitutes the individual's true welfare, beginning with the
fundamental value of life. How great are the possibilities and responsibilities of woman in this area,
at a time when the development of science and technology is not always inspired and measured
by true wisdom, with the inevitable risk of "de-humanizing" human life, above all when it would
demand a more intense love and a more generous acceptance.

The participation of women in the life of the Church and society in the sharing of her gifts is
likewise the path necessary of her personal fulfillment-on which so many justly insist today-and the
basic contribution of woman to the enrichment of Church communion and the dynamism in the
apostolate of the People of God.

From this perspective the presence also of men, together with women, ought to be considered.

The Presence and Collaboration of Men Together with Women

52. Many voices were raised in the Synod Hall expressing the fear that excessive insistence given
to the status and role of women would lead to an unacceptable omission, that, in point, regarding
men. In reality, various sectors in the Church must lament the absence or the scarcity of the
presence of men, some of whom abdicate their proper Church responsibilities, allowing them to be
fulfilled only by women. Such instances are participation in the liturgical prayer of the Church,
education and, in particular, catechesis of their own sons and daughters and other children,
presence at religious and cultural meetings, and collaboration in charitable and missionary
initiatives.

Therefore, the coordinated presence of both men and women is to be pastorally urged so that the
participation of the lay faithful in the salvific mission of the Church might be rendered more rich,

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complete and harmonious.

The fundamental reason that requires and explains the presence and the collaboration of both
men and women is not only, as it was just emphasized, the major source of meaning and efficacy
in the pastoral action of the Church, nor even less is it the simple sociological fact of sharing a life
together as human beings, which is natural for man and woman. It is, rather, the original plan of
the Creator who from the "beginning" willed the human being to be a "unity of the two", and willed
man and woman to be the prime community of persons, source of every other community, and, at
the same time, to be a "sign" of that interpersonal communion of love which constitutes the
mystical, intimate life of God, One in Three.

Precisely for this reason, the most common and widespread way, and at the same time,
fundamental way, to assure this coordinated and harmonious presence of men and women in the
life and mission of the Church, is the fulfilment of the tasks and responsibilities of the couple and
the Christian family, in which the variety of diverse forms of life and love is seen and
communicated: conjugal, paternal and maternal, filial and familial. We read in the Exhortation
Familiaris Consortio: "Since the Christian family is a community in which the relationships are
renewed by Christ through faith and the sacraments, the family's sharing in the Church's mission
should follow a community pattern: the spouses together as a couple, the parents and children as
a family, must live their service to the Church and to the world ... The Christian family also builds
up the Kingdom of God in history through the everyday realities that concern and distinguish its
state of life: it is thus in the love between husband and wife and between members of the family-a
love lived out in all its extraordinary richness of values and demands: totality, oneness, fidelity and
fruitfulness-that the Christian family's participation in the prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of
Jesus Christ and of his Church finds expression and realization"[195].

From this perspective, the Synod Fathers have recalled the meaning that the Sacrament of
Matrimony ought to assume in the Church and society in order to illuminate and inspire all the
relations between men and women. In this regard they have emphasized an " urgent need for
every Christian to live and proclaim the message of hope contained in the relation between man
and woman. The Sacrament of Matrimony, which consecrates this relation in its conjugal form and
reveals it as a sign of the relation of Christ with his Church, contains a teaching of great
importance for the Church's life-a teaching that ought to reach today's world through the Church;
all those relations between man and woman must be imbued by this spirit. The Church should
even more fully rely on the riches found here"[196]. These same Fathers have rightly emphasized
that "the esteem for virginity and reverence for motherhood must be respectively restored"[197],
and still again they have called for the development of diverse and complementary vocations in
the living context of Church communion and in the service of its continued growth.

The Sick and the Suffering

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53. People are called to joy. Nevertheless, each day they experience many forms of suffering and
pain. The Synod Fathers in addressing men and women affected by these various forms of
suffering and pain used the following words in their final Message: "You who are the abandoned
and pushed to the edges of our consumer society; you who are sick, people with disabilities, the
poor and hungry, migrants and prisoners, refugees, unemployed, abandoned children and old
people who feel alone; you who are victims of war and all kinds of violence: the Church reminds
you that she shares your suffering. She takes it to the Lord, who in turn associates you with his
redeeming Passion. You are brought to life in the light of his resurrection. We need you to teach
the whole world what love is. We will do everything we can so that you may find your rightful place
in the Church and in society"[198].

In the context of such a limitless world as human suffering, We now turn our attention to all those
struck down by sickness in its various forms: sickness is indeed the most frequent and common
expression of human suffering.

The Lord addresses his call to each and every one. Even the sick are sent forth as labourers into
the Lord's vineyard: the weight that wearies the body's members and dissipates the soul's serenity
is far from dispensing a person from working in the vineyard. Instead the sick are called to live
their human and Christian vocation and to participate in the growth of the Kingdom of God in a
new and even more valuable manner. The words of the apostle Paul ought to become their
approach to life or, better yet, cast an illumination to permit them to see the meaning of grace in
their very situation: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his
body, that is, the Church" (Col 1:24). Precisely in arriving at this realization, the apostle is raised
up in joy: "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake" (Col 1:24). In the same way many of the sick
can become bearers of the "joy inspired by the Holy Spirit in much affliction" (1 Thes 1:6) and
witnesses to Jesus' resurrection. A handicapped person expressed these sentiments in a
presentation in the Synod Hall: "It is very important to make clear that Christians who live in
situations of illness, pain and old age are called by God not only to unite their suffering to Christ's
Passion but also to receive in themselves now, and to transmit to others, the power of renewal and
the joy of the risen Christ (cf. 2 Cor 4:10-11; 1 Pt 4:13; Rom 8:18 ff)"[199].

On the Church's part-as it reads in the Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris-"Born in the mystery of
Redemption in the Cross of Christ, the Church has to try to meet man in a special way on the path
of suffering. In this meeting man 'becomes the way for the Church', and this is one of the most
important ways"[200]. At this moment the suffering individual is the way of the Church because
that person is, first of all, the way of Christ Himself, who is the Good Samaritan who "does not
pass by", but "has compassion on him, went to him ... bound up his wounds ... took care of him"
(Lk 10:32-34).

From century to century the Christian community in revealing and communicating its healing love
and the consolation of Jesus Christ has reenacted the gospel parable of the Good Samaritan in

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caring for the vast multitude of persons who are sick and suffering. This came about through the
untiring commitment of all those who have taken care of the sick and suffering as a result of
science and the medical arts as well as the skilled and generous service of healthcare workers.
Today there is an increase in the presence of lay women and men in Catholic hospital and
healthcare institutions. At times the lay faithful's presence in these institutions is total and
exclusive. It is to just such people-doctors, nurses, other healthcare workers, volunteers-that the
call becomes the living signof Jesus Christ and his Church in showing love towards the sick and
suffering.

Renewed Pastoral Action

54. It is necessary that this most precious heritage, which the Church has received from Jesus
Christ, "Physician of the body and the spirit"[201], must never diminish but always must come to
be more valued and enriched through renewal and decisive initiatives of pastoral activity for and
with the sick and suffering. This activity must be capable of sustaining and fostering attention,
nearness, presence, listening, dialogue, sharing, and real help toward individuals in moments
when sickness and suffering sorely test not only faith in life but also faith in God and his love as
Father. Such pastoral initiatives find most meaningful expression in sacramental celebrations with
and for the sick, as a source of strength amid pain and weakness, hope amid despair, and as an
occasion of joyful encounter.

One of the basic objectives of this renewed and intensified pastoral action, which must involve all
components of the ecclesial community in a coordinated way, is an attitude which looks upon the
sick person, the bearer of a handicap, or the suffering individual, not simply as an object of the
Church's love and service, but as an active and responsible participant in the work of
evangelization and salvation. From this perspective the Church has to let the good news resound
within a society and culture, which, having lost the sense of human suffering, "censors" all talk on
such a hard reality of life. Thegood news is the proclamation that suffering can even have a
positive meaning for the individual and for society itself, since each person is called to a form of
participation in the salvific suffering of Christ and in the joy of resurrection, as well as, thereby, to
become a force for the sanctification and building up of the Church.

The proclamation of this good news gains credibility when it is not simply voiced in words, but
passes into a testimony of life, both in the case of all those who lovingly care for the sick, the
handicapped and the suffering, as well as the suffering themselves who are increasingly made
more conscious and responsible of their place and task within and on behalf of the Church.

In order that "the civilization of love" can flourish and produce fruit in this vast world of human pain,
I invite all to reread and meditate on the Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris, from which I am pleased to
again propose the lines from its conclusion: "There should come together in spirit beneath the
Cross of Calvary all suffering people who believe in Christ, and particularly those who suffer

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because of their faith in him who is the Crucified and Risen One, so that the offering of their
sufferings may hasten the fulfilment of the prayer of the Saviour himself that all may be one. Let
there also gather beneath the Cross all people of good will, for on this Cross is the 'Redeemer of
Man', the Man of Sorrows, who has taken upon himself the physical and moral sufferings of the
people of all times, so that in love they may find the salvific meaning of their sorrow and valid
answers to all their questions.

Together with Mary, Mother of Christ, who stood beneath the Cross, we pause beside all the
crosses of contemporary man and we ask all of you who suffer to support us. We ask precisely
you who are weak to become a source of strength for the Church and humanity. In the terrible
battle between the forces of good and evil revealed to our eyes by our modern world, may your
sufferings in union with the Cross of Christ be victorious"[202].

The States of Life and Vocations

55. All the members of the People of God -clergy, men and women religious, the lay faithful-are
labourers in the vineyard. At one and the same time they all are the goal and subjects of Church
communion as well as of participation in the mission of salvation. Every one of us possessing
charisms and ministries, diverse yet complementary, works in the one and the same vineyard of
the Lord.

Simply in being Christians, even before actually doing the works of a Christian, all are branches of
the one fruitful vine which is Christ.

All are living members of the one Body of the Lord built up through the power of the Spirit. The
significance of "being" a Christian does not come about simply from the life of grace and holiness
which is the primary and more productive source of the apostolic and missionary fruitfulness of
Holy Mother Church. Its meaning also arises from the state of life that characterizes the clergy,
men and women religious, members of secular institutes and the lay faithful.

In Church Communion the states of life by being ordered one to the other are thus bound together
among themselves. They all share in a deeply basic meaning: that of being the manner of living
out the commonly shared Christian dignity and the universal call to holiness in the perfection of
love. They are different yet complementary, in the sense that each of them has a basic and
unmistakable character which sets each apart, while at the same time each of them is seen in
relation to the other and placed at each other's service.

Thus the lay state of life has its distinctive feature in its secular character. It fulfills an ecclesial
service in bearing witness and, in its own way recalling for priests, women and men religious, the
significance of the earthly and temporal realities in the salvific plan of God. In turn, the ministerial
priesthood represents in different times and places, the permanent guarantee of the sacramental

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presence of Christ, the Redeemer. The religious state bears witness to the eschatological
character of the Church, that is, the straining towards the Kingdom of God that is prefigured and in
some way anticipated and experienced even now through the vows of chastity, poverty and
obedience.

All the states of life, whether taken collectively or individually in relation to the others, are at the
service of the Church's growth. While different in expression they are deeply united in the Church's
"mystery of communion" and are dynamically coordinated in its unique mission.

Thus in the diversity of the states of life and the variety of vocations this same, unique mystery of
the Church reveals and experiences anew the infinite richness of the mystery of Jesus Christ. The
Fathers were fond of referring to the Church as a field of a pleasing and wonderful variety of
herbs, plants, flowers and fruits. Saint Ambrose writes: "A field produces many fruits, but the one
which has an abundance of both fruits and flowers is far better. The field of holy Church is fruitful
in both one and the other. In this field there are the priceless buds of virginity blossoming forth,
widowhood stands out boldly as the forest in the plain; elsewhere the rich harvest of weddings
blessed by the Church fills the great granary of the world with abundant produce, and the wine-
presses of the Lord Jesus overflow with the grapes of a productive vine, enriches Christian
marriages"[203].

The Various Vocations in the Lay State

56. The Church's rich variety is manifested still further from within each state of life. Thus within
the lay state diverse "vocations" are given, that is, there are different paths in the spiritual life and
the apostolate which are taken by individual members of the lay faithful. In the field of a
"commonly shared" lay vocation "special" lay vocations flourish. In this area we can also recall the
spiritual experience of the flourishing of diverse forms of secular institutes that have developed
recently in the Church. These offer the lay faithful, and even priests, the possibility of professing
the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience through vows or promises, while fully
maintaining one's lay or clerical state[204]. In this regard the Synod Fathers have commented,
"The Holy Spirit stirs up other forms of self-giving to which people who remain fully in the lay state
devote themselves"[205].

We can conclude by reading a beautiful passage taken from Saint Francis de Sales, who
promoted lay spirituality so well[206]. In speaking of "devotion", that is, Christian perfection or "life
according to the Spirit", he presents in a simple yet insightful way the vocation of all Christians to
holiness while emphasizing the specific form with which individual Christians fulfill it: "In creation
God commanded the plants to bring forth their fruits, each one after its kind. So does he command
all Christians, who are the living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each
according to his character and vocation. Devotion must be exercised in different ways by the
gentleman, the workman, the servant, the prince, the widow, the maid and the married woman.

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Not only this, but the practice of devotion must also be adapted to the strength, the employment,
and the duties of each one in particular ... It is an error, or rather a heresy, to try to banish the
devout life from the regiment of soldiers, the shop of the mechanic, the court of princes, or the
home of married folk. It is true, Philothea, that a purely contemplative, monastic and religious
devotion cannot be exercised in such ways of life. But besides these three kinds of devotion, there
are several others adapted to bring to perfection those who live in the secular state"[207].

Along the same line the Second Vatican Council states: "This lay spirituality should take its
particular character from the circumstances of one's state in life (married and familylife, celibacy,
widowhood), from one's state of health and from one's professional and social activity. All should
not cease to develop earnestly the qualities and talents bestowed on them in accord with these
conditions of life and should make use of the gifts which they have received from the Holy
Spirit"[208].

What has been said about the spiritual vocation can also be said-and to a certain degree with
greater reason-of the infinite number of ways through which all members of the Church are
employed as labourers in the vineyard of the Lord, building up the Mystical Body of Christ. Indeed
as a person with a truly unique lifestory, each is called by name, to make a special contribution to
the coming of the Kingdom of God. No talent, no matter how small, is to be hidden or left unused
(cf. Mt 25:24-27).

In this regard the apostle Peter gives us a stern warning: "As each has received a gift, employ it
for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace" (1 Pt 4:10).

CHAPTER V

THAT YOU BEAR MUCH FRUIT
The Formation of the Lay Faithful in the Lay State

A Continual Process of Maturation

57. The gospel image of the vine and the branches reveals to us another fundamental aspect of
the lay faithful's life and mission: the call to growth and a continual process of maturation, of
always bearing much fruit.

As a diligent vinedresser, the Father takes care of his vine. God's solicitude is so ardently called
upon by Israel, that she prays: "Turn again, O God of hosts! / Look down from heaven, and see; /
have regard for this vine, / the stock which your right hand has planted" (Ps 80:15-16). Jesus
himself speaks of the Father's work: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every
branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away. and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes
that it may bear more fruit" (Jn 15:1-2).

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The vitality of the branches depends on their remaining attached to the vine, which is Jesus Christ:
"He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn
15:5).

People are approached in liberty by God who calls everyone to grow, develop and bear fruit. A
person cannot put off a response nor cast off personal responsibility in the matter. The solemn
words of Jesus refer to this exalted and serious responsibility: "If a man does not abide in me, he
is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and
burned" (Jn 15:6).

In this dialogue between God who offers his gifts, and the person who is called to exercise
responsibility, there comes the possibility, indeed the necessity, of a total and ongoing formation of
the lay faithful, as the Synod Fathers have rightly emphasized in much of their work. After having
described Christian formation as "a continual process in the individual of maturation in faith and a
likening to Christ, according to the will of the Father, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit", they
have clearly affirmed that the formation of the lay faithful must be placed among the priorities of a
diocese. It ought to be so placed within the plan of pastoral action that the efforts of the whole
community (clergy, lay faithful and religious) converge on this goal"[209].

To Discover and Live One's Vocation and Mission

58. The fundamental objective of the formation of the lay faithful is an ever-clearer discovery of
one's vocation and the ever-greater willingness to live it so as to fulfil one's mission.

God calls me and sends me forth as a labourer in his vineyard. He calls me and sends me forth to
work for the coming of his Kingdom in history. This personal vocation and mission defines the
dignity and the responsibility of each member of the lay faithful and makes up the focal point of the
whole work of formation, whose purpose is the joyous and grateful recognition of this dignity and
the faithful and generous living-out of this responsibility.

In fact, from eternity God has thought of us and has loved us as unique individuals. Every one of
us he called by name, as the Good Shepherd "calls his sheep by name" (Jn 10:3). However, only
in the unfolding of the history of our lives and its events is the eternal plan of God revealed to each
of us. Therefore, it is a gradual process; in a certain sense, one that happens day by day.

To be able to discover the actual will of the Lord in our lives always involves the following: a
receptive listening to the Word of God and the Church, fervent and constant prayer, recourse to a
wise and loving spiritual guide, and a faithful discernment of the gifts and talents given by God, as
well as the diverse social and historic situations in which one lives.

Therefore, in the life of each member of the lay faithful there are particularly significant and

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decisive moments for discerning God's call and embracing the mission entrusted by Him. Among
these are the periods of adolescence and young adulthood. No one must forget that the Lord, as
the master of the labourers in the vineyard, calls at every hour of life so as to make his holy will
more precisely and explicitly known. Therefore, the fundamental and continuous attitude of the
disciple should be one of vigilance and a conscious attentiveness to the voice of God.

It is not a question of simply knowing what God wants from each of us in the various situations of
life. The individual must do what God wants, as we are reminded in the words that Mary, the
Mother of Jesus, addressed to the servants at Cana: "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5).
However, to act in fidelity to God's will requires a capability for acting and the developing of that
capability. We can rest assured that this is possible through the free and responsible collaboration
of each of us with the grace of the Lord which is never lacking. Saint Leo the Great says: "The one
who confers the dignity will give the strength!"[210].

This, then, is the marvelous yet demanding task awaiting all the lay faithful and all Christians at
every moment: to grow always in the knowledge of the richness of Baptism and faith as well as to
live it more fully. In referring to birth and growth as two stages in the Christian life the apostle Peter
makes the following exhortation: "Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it
you may grow up to salvation" (1 Pt 2:2).

A Total Integrated Formation for Living an Integrated Life

59. In discovering and living their proper vocation and mission, the lay faithful must be formed
according to the union which exists from their being members of the Church and citizens of human
society.

There cannot be two parallel lives in their existence: on the one hand, the so-called "spiritual" life,
with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called "secular" life, that is, life in a family, at
work, in social relationships, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture. The branch,
engrafted to the vine which is Christ, bears its fruit in every sphere of existence and activity. In
fact, every area of the lay faithful's lives, as different as they are, enters into the plan of God, who
desires that these very areas be the "places in time" where the love of Christ is revealed and
realized for both the glory of the Father and service of others. Every activity, every situation, every
precise responsibility-as, for example, skill and solidarity in work, love and dedication in the family
and the education of children, service to society and public life and the promotion of truth in the
area of culture-are the occasions ordained by Providence for a "continuous exercise of faith, hope
and charity"[211].

The Second Vatican Council has invited all the lay faithful to this unity of life by forcefully decrying
the grave consequences in separating faith from life, and the gospel from culture: "The Council
exhorts Christians, as citizens of one city and the other, to strive to perform their earthly duties

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faithfully in response to the spirit of the Gospel. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have
here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly
responsibilities; for they are forgetting that by faith itself they are more than ever obliged to
measure up to these duties, each according to one's vocation ... This split between the faith which
many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our
age"[212].

Therefore, I have maintained that a faith that does not affect a person's culture is a faith "not fully
embraced, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived"[213].

Various Aspects of Formation

60. The many interrelated aspects of a totally integrated formation of the lay faithful are situated
within this unity of life.

There is no doubt that spiritual formation ought to occupy a privileged place in a person's life.
Everyone is called to grow continually in intimate union with Jesus Christ, in conformity to the
Father's will, in devotion to others in charity and justice. The Council writes: "This life of intimate
union with Christ in the Church is nourished by spiritual helps available to all the faithful, especially
by active participation in the liturgy. Lay people should so make use of these helps in such a way
that, while properly fulfilling their secular duties in the ordinary conditions of life, they do not
disassociate union with Christ from that life, but through the very performance of their tasks
according to God's will, may they actually grow in it"[214].

The situation today points to an ever-increasing urgency for a doctrinal formation of the lay faithful,
not simply in a better understanding which is natural to faith's dynamism but also in enabling them
to "give a reason for their hoping" in view of the world and its grave and complex problems.
Therefore, a systematic approach to catechesis, geared to age and the diverse situations of life, is
an absolute necessity, as is a more decided Christian promotion of culture, in response to the
perennial yet always new questions that concern individuals and society today.

This is especially true for the lay faithful who have responsibilities in various fields of society and
public life. Above all, it is indispensable that they have a more exact knowledge -and this demands
a more widespread and precise presentation-of the Church's social doctrine, as repeatedly
stressed by the Synod Fathers in their presentations. They refer to the participation of the lay
faithful in public life, in the following words: "But for the lay faithful to take up actively this noble
purpose in political matters, it is not enough to exhort them. They must be offered a proper
formation of a social conscience, especially in the Church's social teaching, which contains
principles - of reflection, criteria for judging and practical directives (cf. Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction of Christian Freedom and Liberation, 72), and which must be
present in general catechetical instruction and in specialized gatherings, as well as in schools and

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universities. Nevertheless, this social doctrine of the Church is dynamic; that is, adapted to
circumstances of time and place. It is the right and duty of Pastors to propose moral principles
even concerning the social order and of all Christians to apply them in defence of human rights
Nevertheless, active participation in political parties is reserved to the lay faithful"[215].

The cultivation of human values finds a place in the context of a totally integrated formation,
bearing a particular significance for the missionary and apostolic activities of the lay faithful. In this
regard the Council wrote: "(the lay faithful) should also hold in high esteem professional skill,
family and civic spirit, and the virtues related to social behaviour, namely, honesty, a spirit of
justice, sincerity, courtesy, moral courage; without them there is no true Christian life"[216].

In bringing their lives into an organic synthesis, which is, at one and the same time, the
manifestation of the unity of "who they are" in the Church and society as well as the condition for
the effective fulfilment of their mission, the lay faithful are to be guided interiorly and sustained by
the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of unity and fullness of life.

Collaborators with God the Teacher

61. Where are the lay faithful formed? What are the means of their formation? Who are the
persons and the communities called upon to assume the task of a totally integrated formation of
the lay faithful?

Just as the work of human education is intimately connected with fatherhood and motherhood, so
Christian formation finds its origin and its strength in God the Father who loves and educates his
children. Yes, God is the first and great teacher of his People, as it states in the striking passage
of the Song of Moses: "He found him in a desert land / and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
/ he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. / Like an eagle that stirs
up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its
pinions, / the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no foreign God with him" (Deut 32:10-12; cf.
8:5).

God's work in forming his people is revealed and fulfilled in Jesus Christ the Teacher, and reaches
to the depths of every individual's heart as a result of the living presence of the Spirit. Mother
Church is called to take part in the divine work of formation, both through a sharing of her very life,
and through her various pronouncements and actions. It is thus that the lay faithful are formed by
the Church andin the Church in a mutual communion and collaboration of all her members: clergy,
religious and lay faithful. Thus the whole ecclesial community, in its diverse members, receives the
fruitfulness of the Spirit and actively cooperates towards that end. With this in mind Methodius of
Olympo wrote: "Those not yet perfected are carried and formed by those more perfect, as in the
womb of a mother, until the time they are generated and brought forth for the greatness and
beauty of virtue"[217]. This happened with Saint Paul, who was carried and brought forth in the

74
Church by those who were perfected (in the person of Ananias) and, then Paul in his turn, became
perfected and fruitful in bringing forth many children.

First of all the Church is a teacher, in which the Pope takes the "primary" role in the formation of
the lay faithful. As successor of Saint Peter, he has the ministry of "confirming his brothers in the
faith", instructing all believers in the essential content of vocation and mission in light of the
Christian faith and membership in the Church. Therefore, not simply the words coming directly
from him, but also those transmitted by the various departments of the Holy See call for a loving
and receptive hearing by the lay faithful.

The one and universal Church is present in various parts of the world, in and through the particular
Churches. In each of them the Bishop in his person has a responsibility towards the lay faithful, in
forming the animation and guidance of their Christian life through the proclamation of the Word
and the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments.

Situated and at work within the particular Church or diocese is the Parish which has the essential
task of a more personal and immediate formation of the lay faithful. In fact, because it is in the
position to reach more easily individual persons and singular groups, the parish is called to instruct
its members in hearing God's Word, in liturgical and personal dialogue with God, in the life of
fraternal charity, and in allowing a more direct and concrete perception of the sense of ecclesial
communion and responsibility in the Church's mission.

Internal to the parish, especially if vast and territorially extensive, small Church communities,
where present, can be a notable help in the formation of Christians, by providing a consciousness
and an experience of ecclesial communion and mission which are more extensive and incisive.
The Synod Fathers have said that a post-baptismal catechesis in the form of a catechumenate can
also be helpful by presenting again some elements from the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
with the purpose of allowing a person to grasp and live the immense, extraordinary richness and
responsibility received at Baptism[218].

In the formation that the lay faithful receive from their diocese and parish, especially concerning
communion and mission, the help that diverse members of the Church can give to each other is
particularly important. This mutual help also aids in revealing the mystery of the Church as Mother
and Teacher. Priests and religious ought to assist the lay faithful in their formation. In this regard
the Synod Fathers have invited priests and candidates for Orders to "be prepared carefully so that
they are ready to foster the vocation and mission of the lay faithful"[219]. In turn, the lay faithful
themselves can and should help priests and religious in the course of their spiritual and pastoral
journey.

Other Places for Formation

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62 . The Christian family, as the "domestic Church", also makes up a natural and fundamental
school for formation in the faith: father and mother receive from the Sacrament of Matrimony the
grace and the ministry of the Christian education of their children, before whom they bear witness
and to whom they transmit both human and religious values. While learning their first words,
children learn also the praise of God, whom they feel is near them as a loving and providential
Father; while learning the first acts of love, children also learn to open themselves to others, and
through the gift of self receive the sense of living as a human being. The daily life itself of a truly
Christian family makes up the first "experience of Church", intended to find confirmation and
development in an active and responsible process of the children's introduction into the wider
ecclesial community and civil society. The more that Christian spouses and parents grow in the
awareness that their "domestic church" participates in the life and mission of the universal Church,
so much the more will their sons and daughters be able to be formed in a "sense of the Church"
and will perceive all the beauty of dedicating their energies to the service of the Kingdom of God.

Schools and Catholic universities, as well as centers of spiritual renewal which are becoming ever
more widespread in these days, are also important places for formation. In the present social and
historical context which is marked by an extensively deep cultural involvement, the Synod Fathers
have emphasized that parents' participation in school life-besides being always necessary and
without substitution-is no longer enough. What is needed is to prepare the lay faithful to dedicate
themselves to the work of rearing their children as a true and proper part of Church mission. What
is needed is to constitute and develop this "formation community" which is together comprised of
parents, teachers, clergy, women and men religious and representatives of youth. In order that the
school can suitably fulfill its natural function in formation, the lay faithful ought to feel charged to
demand from everyone and for everyone a true freedom in education, even through opportune
civil legislation[220].

The Synod Fathers expressed words of esteem and encouragement to all those lay faithful, both
women and men, who with a civic and Christian spirit, fulfill a task which is involved in the
education of children both in schools and institutes of formation. In addition they have emphasized
the urgent need in various schools, whether Catholic or not, for teachers and professors among
the lay faithful to be true witnesses of the gospel, through their example of life, their professional
competence and uprightness, their Christian inspired teaching, preserving always-as is obvious-
the autonomy of various sciences and disciplines. It is of singular importance that scientific and
technological research done by the faithful be correct from the standpoint of service to an
individual in the totality of the context of one's values and needs: to these lay faithful the Church
entrusts the task of allowing all to better understand the intimate bond that exists between faith
and science, between the gospel and human culture[221].

"This Synod"-we read in the proposition-"appeals to the prophetic task of Catholic schools and
universities, and praises teachers and professors, now lay people for the most part, for their
dedication to maintaining institutes of Catholic education that can form men and women in whom

76
the new commandment is enfleshed. The simultaneous presence of clergy, the lay faithful and
men and women religious, offers students a vivid image of the Church and makes recognition of
its riches easier (cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, Concerning the Lay Educator, Witness
of Faith in the Schools)"[222].

Groups, associations and movements also have their place in the formation of the lay faithful. In
fact they have the possibility, each with its own method, of oflfering a formation through a deeply
shared experience in the apostolic life, as well as having the opportunity to integrate, to make
concrete and specific the formation that their members receive from other persons and
communities.

The Reciprocal Formation Received and Given by All

63. Formation is not the privilege of a few, but a right and duty of all. In this regard the Synod
Fathers have said: "Possibilities of formation should be proposed to all, especially the poor, who
can also be a source of formation for all"; and they added: "Suitable means to help each person
fulfill a full, human and Christian vocation should be applied to formation"[223].

For the purpose of a truly incisive and effective pastoral activity the formation of those who will
form others is to be developed through appropriate courses or suitable schools. Forming those
who, in turn, will be given the responsibility for the formation of the lay faithful, constitutes a basic
requirement of assuring the general and widespread formation of all the lay faithful.

According to the explicit invitation of the Synod Fathers special attention ought to be devoted to
the local culture in the work of formation: "The formation of Christians will take the greatest
account of local human culture, which contributes to formation itself, and will help to discern the
value, whether implanted in tradition or proposed in modern affairs. Attention should be paid to
diverse cultures which can exist in one and the same people or nation at the same time. The
Church, the mother and teacher of peoples, should strive to safeguard, where the need exists, the
culture of a less numerous people living in large nations when the situation exists"[224].

In the work of formation some convictions reveal themselves as particularly necessary and fruitful.
First of all, there is the conviction that one cannot offer a true and effective formation to others if
the individual has not taken on or developed a personal responsibility for formation: this, in fact, is
essentially a "formation of self".

In addition, there is the conviction that at one and the same time each of us is the goal and
principle of formation: the more we are formed and the more we feel the need to pursue and
deepen our formation, still more will we be formed and be rendered capable of forming others.

It is particularly important to know that the work of formation, while having intelligent recourse to

77
the means and methods available from human science, is made more effective the more it is open
to the action of God. Only the branch which does not fear being pruned by the heavenly
vinedresser can bear much fruit for the individual and for others.

An Appeal and A Prayer

64. At the conclusion of this post-Synodal document I once again put forward the invitation of "the
householder", proposed in the gospel: You go into my vineyard too. It can be said that the
significance of the Synod on the vocation and mission of the lay faithful might very well consist in
this call of the Lord which he addresses to eueryone, yet, in a particular way to the lay faithful,
both women and men.

The happenings at the Synod have been a great spiritual experience for all the participants. The
experience has been that of a Church under the light and the power of the Spirit, intent on
discerning and embracing the renewed call of her Lord so that she can again propose to today's
world, the mystery of her communion and the dynamism of her mission of salvation, especially, by
centering on the specific place and role of the lay faithful. This Exhortation, then, intends to urge
the most abundant possible fruitfulness from this Synod in every part of the Church worldwide.
This will come about as a result of an effective hearkening to the Lord's call by the entire People of
God, in particular, by the lay faithful.

Therefore I make a strong appeal to one and all, Pastors and faithful, never to become tired of
maintaining-indeed always taking an active part to fix deeply in one's mind, heart and life-an
ecclesial consciousness, which is ever mindful of what it means to be members of the Church of
Jesus Christ, participants in her mystery of communion and in her dynamism in mission and the
apostolate.

It is of particular importance that all Christians be aware that through Baptism they have received
an extraordinary dignity: through grace we are called to be children loved by the Father, members
incorporated in Christ and his Church, living and holy temples of the Spirit. With deep emotion and
gratitude, we again hear the words of John the Evangelist: "See what love the Father has given
us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are" (1 Jn 3:1).

While this "Christian newness of life" given to the members of the Church, constitutes for all the
basis of their participation in the priestly, prophetic and kingly mission of Christ and of their
vocation to holines in love, it receives expression and is fulfilled in the lay faithful through the
"secular character" which is "uniquely and properly" theirs.

Besides imparting an awareness of a commonly shared Christian dignity, an ecclesial
consciousness brings a sense of belonging to the mystery of the Church as Communion. This is a
basic and undeniable aspect of the life and mission of the Church. For one and all the earnest

78
prayer of Jesus at the Last Supper, "That all may be one" (Jn 17-21), ought to become daily a
required and undeniable programme of life and action.

A real sense of Church communion, the gift of the Spirit that urges our free and generous
response, will bring forth as its precious fruit, in the "one and catholic" Church the continuing value
of the rich variety of vocations and conditions of life, charisms, ministries, works, and
responsibilities, as well as a more demonstrable and decisive collaboration of groups, associations
and movements of the lay faithful in keeping with the accomplishment of the commonly shared
salvific mission of the Church herself. This communion is already in itself the first great sign in the
world of the presence of Christ, the Saviour. At the same time, it promotes and stimulates the
proper apostolic and missionary action of the Church.

The whole Church, Pastors and lay faithful alike, standing on the threshold of the Third Millennium,
ought to feel more strong]y the Church's responsibility to obey the command of Christ, "Go into all
the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation" (Mk 16:15), and take up anew the
missionary endeavour. A great venture, both challenging and wonderful, is entrusted to the
Church-that of a re-evangelization, which is so much needed by the present world. The lay faithful
ought to regard themselves as an active and responsible part of thisventure, called as they are to
proclaim and to live the gospel in service to the person and to society while respecting the totality
of the values and needs of both.

Since the Synod of Bishops was celebrated last October during the Marian Year, its work was
entrusted in a very special way to the intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the
Redeemer. I too entrust the spiritual fruitfulness of the Synod to her prayerful intercession.
Therefore, along with the Synod Fathers, the lay faithful present at the Synod and all the other
members of the People of God, I have recourse at the end of this post-Synodal document to the
Virgin Mary. At this moment this appeal becomes a prayer:

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, With joy and wonder we seek to make our own your
Magnificat, joining you in your hymn of thankfulness and love.

With you we give thanks to God,
"whose mercy
is from generation to generation",
for the exalted vocation
and the many forms of mission
entrusted to the lay faithful.

God has called each of them by name
to live his own communion of love

79

and holiness
and to be one
in the great family of God's children.
He has sent them forth
to shine with the light of Christ
and to communicate the fire of the Spirit
in every part of society
through their life
inspired by the gospel.

O Virgin of the Magnificat,
fill their hearts
with a gratitude and enthusiasm
for this vocation and mission.

With humility and magnanimity
you were the "handmaid of the Lord";
give us your unreserved willingness
for service to God
and the salvation of the world.
Open our hearts
to the great anticipation
of the Kingdom of God
and of the proclamation of the Gospel
to the whole of creation.
Your mother's heart
is ever mindful of the many dangers
and evils which threaten
to overpower men and women
in our time.

At the same time your heart also takes notice
of the many initiatives
undertaken for good,
the great yearning for values,
and the progress achieved
in bringing forth
the abundant fruits of salvation.

O Virgin full of courage,
may your spiritual strength

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and trust in God inspire us,
so that we might know
how to overcome all the obstacles
that we encounter
in accomplishing our mission.
Teach us to treat the affairs
of the world
with a real sense of Christian responsibility
and a joyful hope
of the coming of God's Kingdom, and
of a "new heaven and a new earth".

You who were gathered in prayer
with the Apostles in the Cenacle,
awaiting the coming
of the Spirit at Pentecost,
implore his renewed outpouring
on all the faithful, men and women alike,
so that they might more fully respond
to their vocation and mission,
as branches engrafted to the true vine,
called to bear much fruit
for the life of the world.

O Virgin Mother,
guide and sustain us
so that we might always live
as true sons and daughters
of the Church of your Son.
Enable us to do our part
in helping to establish on earth
the civilization of truth and love,
as God wills it,
for his glory.

Amen

Given at Rome, in St. Peter's, on 30 December, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and
Joseph, in the year 1988, the eleventh of my Pontificate.

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[1] Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 48.[2] St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in
Evang. I, XIX, 2; PL 76, 1155.[3] Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam
Actuositatem, 33.[4] John Paul II, Homily at the Solemn Eucharistic Concelebration for the Close of the Seventh
Ordinary, General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops closing Mass (Oct. 30, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 598.[5] Cf. Propositio
1.[6] Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes,, 11.[7] The
fathers of the extraordinary synod of 1985, after affirming "the great importance and timeliness of the pastoral constitution
Gaudium et Spes, continue: "Nevertheless, at the same time, they perceive that the signs of our times are in part different
from those at the time of the council, with its problems and major trials. In fact, hunger, oppression, injustice and war,
suffering, terrorism and forms of various kinds of violence are growing everywhere in the world today" (Ecclesia sub
Verbo Dei Mysteria Christi Celebrans pro Salute Mundi, Relatio Finalis, II, D, 1).[8] Gaudium et spes, 7.[9] St. Augustine,
Confessiones, I, 1: CCL (Collected Works of Christian Writers, Latin Series) 27, 1.[10] Cf. Instrumentatum Laboris, "The
Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World 20 Years after the Second Vatican Council," 5-
10. [11] Lumen Gentium, 1.[12] Ibid., 6.[13] Cf. Propositio 3.[14] Lumen Gentium, 31.[15] Ibid.[16] Pius XII, Discourse to
the new cardinals, Feb. 20, 1946: AAS 38 (1946), 149.[17] Ecumenical Council of Florence, Decr. pro Armeniis, DS
1314.[18] Lumen Gentium, 10.[19] St. Augustine, Ennar. in Ps. XXVI, II, 2: CCL 38, 154ff.[20] Lumen Gentium, 10.[21]
John Paul II, Homily at the beginning of his pastoral ministry as supreme shepherd of the Church (Oct. 22, 1978): AAS 70
(1978), 946.[22] Cf. The renewed proposal of this teaching in the 1987 synod's Instrumentum Laboris, "The Vocation and
Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World 20 years after the Second Vatican Council," 25.[23] Lumen
Gentium, 34.[24] Ibid., 35.[25] Ibid., 12.[26] Ibid., 35.[27] St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, XX, 10: CCL 48, 720.[28] Lumen
Gentium, 32.[29] Ibid., 31.[30] Paul VI, Talk to the members of secular institutes (Feb. 2, 1972): AAS 64 (1972), 208.[31]
Apostolicam Actuositatem, 5.[32] Lumen Gentium, 31.[33] Ibid.[34] Ibid.[35] Cf. Ibid., 48.[36] Gaudium et spes,, 32[37]
Lumen Gentium, 31.[38] Ibid.[39] Propositio 4.[40] "Full members of the People of God and the mystical body, they
participate, through Baptism, in the threefold priestly, prophetic and kingly mission of Christ; the lay faithful express and
exercise the riches of their dignity through their living in the world. What can be an additional or exceptional task for those
who belong to the ordained ministry is the typical mission of the lay faithful. their proper vocation consists 'in seeking the
kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God' (Lumen Gentium,
31)" (John Paul II, Angelus talk, (March 15, 1987): Insegnamenti, X, 1 [1987], 561).[41] See, in particular,Lumen Gentium
5, 39-42, which treats the subject of "the universal call to holiness in the Church."[42] The Second Extraordinary General
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1985), Relatio Finalis, II, A.4.[43] Lumen Gentium, 40.[44] Ibid., 42. These solemn
and unequivocal affirmations of the council repropose a fundamental truth of the Christian faith. Thus, for example, Pius
XI in the encyclical Casti Connubii addressed Christian spouses in the following words: "In whatever state they might be
and whatever upright way of life they might have chosen, all must imitate the most perfect example of holiness, proposed
by God to humanity, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of God to even reach the highest stage of Christian
perfection, shown in the example of the many saints": AAS 22 (1930), 548.[45] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.[46]
Propositio 5.[47] Propositio 8.[48] St. Leo the Great, Sermo XXI, 3: S. Ch. 22a, 72.[49] St. Maximus, Trac. III de
Baptismo: PL 57, 779.[50] St. Augustine, In Ioann. Evang. Tract., 21, 8: CCL 36, 216.[51] Lumen Gentium, 33.[52] Ibid.,
4.[53] The Second Extraordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops (1985), Relatio Vinalis, II, C, 1.[54] Paul VI,
Wednesday general audience talk (June 8, 1966): Insegnamenti, IV (1966), 794.[55] Cf. Lumen Gentium, 6.[56] Cf. ibid.,
7 et passim.[57] Ibid., 9.[58] Ibid., 1.[59] Ibid., 9.[60] Ibid., 7.[61] Ibid.[62] Ibid., 4.[63]  John Paul II, Homily at the Solemn
Eucharistic Concelebration for the close of the Seventh Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (Oct. 30, 1987): AAS
80 (1988), 600.[64] Cf. Lumen Gentium, 4.[65] Cf. Second Vatican council, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church

82

Ad Gentes, 5.[66] Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Sacred Priesthood Presbyterorum Ordinis, 2; cf. Lumen
Gentium, 10.[67] Cf. Lumen Gentium, 10.[68] Cf. John Paul II, Holy Thursday letter to all the priests of the Church (April
9, 1979), 3-4: Insegnamenti, II, 1 (1979), 844-847.[69] Code of Canon Law, Can. 230, par. 3.[70] Cf. Presbyterorum
Ordinis, 2 and 5.[71] Cf. Apostolicam Actuositatem, 24.[72] The Code of Canon Law lists a series of roles and tasks
proper to the sacred ministers, that nevertheless for special and grave circumstances, and concretely in areas which lack
priests or deacons, can temporarily be exercised by the lay faithful, with previous juridic faculty and mandated by
competent ecclesiastical authority: cf. Can. 230, par. 3; 517, par. 2; 776; 861 par. 2; 910 par. 2; 943; 1112, etc.[73] Cf.
Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 28; Code of Canon Law, Can. 230
par. 2, that states: "Lay persons can fulfill the function of lector during the liturgical actions by temporary deputation;
likewise all lay persons can fulfill the functions of commentator or cantor of other functions, in accord with the norm of
law."[74] The Code of Canon Law presents diverse roles and tasks that the lay faithful can fulfill in the organized structure
of the Church: cf. Can. 228; 229 par. 3; 317 par. 3; 463 par. 1, 5 and par. 2; 483; 494; 537; 759; 776; 784; 785; 1282;
1421.[75] Propositio 18.[76] Paul VI, apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 70: AAS 68 (1976), 60.[77] Cf. Code of
Canon Law, 230 par. 1.[78] Propositio 18.[79] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 3.[80] "From the reception of these charisms or
gifts, even the most ordinary ones, there arises for each believer the right and duty to use them in the Church and in the
world for the good of people and the building up of the Church. In doing so believers need to enjoy the freedom of the
Holy Spirit who 'breathes where He wills' (Jn 3:8). At the same time they must act in communion with their brothers and
sisters in Christ, especially with their pastor" (ibid.).[81] Propositio 9.[82] Lumen Gentium, 12.[83] Cf. Ibid. 30.[84] Second
Vatican Council, Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church Christus Dominus, 11.[85] Lumen Gentium,
23. [86] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10.[87] Cf. Propositio 10.[88] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 443 par. 4; 463 par. 1 and
2.[89] Cf. Propositio 10.[90] The council document reads: "It is impossible for the bishop always and everywhere to reside
over the whole flock in his Church; he must of necessity establish groupings of the faithful. Among these, parishes, set up
locally under a pastor who takes the place of the bishop are the most important: for in a certain way they represent the
visible Church as it is established throughout the world" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 42).[91] Lumen Gentium, 28. .[92]
John Paul II, apostolic exhortation Catechesi Tradendae, 67: AAS 71 (1979), 1333.[93] Code of Canon Law, Can. 515,
par. 1. 80.[94] Cf. Propositio 10.[95] Cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 42.[96] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 555, par. 1,
1.[97] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 383, par. 1.[98] Paul VI, Discourse to the Roman clergy (June 24, 1963): AAS 55
(1963), 674.[99] Propositio 11.[100] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10.[101] Ibid.[102] Propositio 10.[103] St. Gregory the
Great, Hom. in Ez., II, I, 5: CCL 142, 211.[104] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 16.[105] John Paul II, Angelus Talk (Aug. 23,
1987): Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), 240.[106] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 18.[107] Ibid., 19; cf. also ibid., 15; Lumen
Gentium, 37.[108] Code of Canon Law, Can. 215. [109] Lumen Gentium, 39.[110] Cf. Ibid.[111] Apostolicam
Actuositatem, 19. [112] Cf. Lumen Gentium, 23.[113] Ibid.[114] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 23.[115] Ibid., 20.[116] Ibid.,
24.[117] Propositio 13.[118] Cf. Propositio 15.[119] John Paul II, Discourse at a Meeting of the Church in Loreto, Italy
(April 10, 1985): AAS 77 (1985), 964.[120] Lumen Gentium, 1.[121] Ibid., 30.[122] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10.[123]
Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14: AAS 68 (1976), 13.[124]  John Paul II, Homily at the beginning of his ministry as
Supreme Shepherd of the Church (Oct. 22, 1978): AAS 70 (1978), 947.[125] Propositio 10.[126] Ad Gentes, 20; cf. also
ibid., 37.[127] Propositio 29.[128] Cf. Ad Gentes, 21.[129] Propositio 30 bis.[130] Lumen Gentium, 5. [131] Cf. Gaudium
et Spes, 22.[132] Ibid.[133] John Paul II, encyclical letter Redemptoris Hominis, 14: AAS 71 (1979), 284-285.[134]
Gaudium et Spes, 40.[135] Cf. Ibid., 12.[136] "If we celebrate so solemnly the birth of Jesus, we do it so as to bear
witness to the fact that each person is someone, unique and unrepeatable. If humanity's statistics and arrangement, its
political, economic and social systems as well as its simple possibilities, do not come about to assure man that he can be

83

born, exist and work as a unique and unrepeatable individual, then bid 'farewell' to all assurances. For Christ and
because of Him, the individual is always unique and unrepeatable; someone eternally conceived and eternally chosen;
someone called and given a special name" (John Paul II, First Christmas radio message: AAS 71 (1979), 66).[137]
Gaudium et Spes, 27.[138 ] John Paul II, apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 30: AAS 74 (1984), 116. [139] Cf.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of
Procreation: Reply to Certain Questions of the Day Donum Vitae (February 22, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 70-102.[140]
Propositio 36.[141] John Paul II, Message for the Twenty-first World Day of Peace, "Religious Freedom: Condition for
Peace" (December 8, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 278, 280.[142] St. Augustine, De Catech. Rud., XXIV, 44: CCL 46,
168.[143] Propositio 32.[144] Gaudium et Spes, 24.[145] Ibid., 12.[146] Cf. Familiaris Consortio, 42-48: AAS 74 (1982),
134-140.[147] Ibid., 85: AAS 74 (1982), 188.[148] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 8.[149] For the relationship between justice
and mercy, see John Paul II, encyclical letter Dives in Misericordia, 12: AAS 72 (1980), 1215-1217.[150] Gaudium et
Spes, 75.[151] Ibid., 74.[152] Ibid., 76.[153] Cf. Propositio 28.[154] John Paul II, encyclical letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis,
38: AAS 80 (1988), 565-566.[155] Cf. John XXIII, encyclical letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55, (1963), 265-266.[156]
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 39: AAS 80 (1988), 568.[157] Cf. Propositio 26.[158] Gaudium et Spes, 63.[159] Cf. Propositio
24.[160] Gaudium et Spes, 67. [161] Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34: AAS 80 (1988), 560.[162] Gaudium et Spes, 53.[163] Cf.
Propositio 35.[164] Gaudium et Spes, 58.[165] Evangelii Nuntiandi, 18-20.[166] Cf. Propositio 37.[167] St. Gregory the
Great, Hom. in Evang. I, XIX, 2: PL 76, 1155.[168] Second Vatican Council, Declaration on Christian Education,
Gravissimum Educationis, 2.[169] John Paul II, Apostolic letter for the International Year of Youth, 15: AAS 77 (1985),
620-621.[170] Cf. Propositio 52.[171] Propositio 51.[172] Second Vatican Council, Message to Youth (Dec. 8, 1965): AAS
58 (1966), 18.[173] Gaudium et Spes, 48.[174]  John Gerson, De Parvulis ad Christum Trahendis. Oeuvres Completes,
Desclee, Paris 1973, IX, 669.[175] John Paul II, Discourse to a gathering of older people from the dioceses of Italy
(March 23, 1984): Insegnamenti, VII, I (1984), 744.[176] Cf. John XXIII, encyclical letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963),
267-268.[177] Familiaris Consortio, 24: AAS 74 (1982), 109-110.[178] Propositio 46.[179] Propositio 47.[180]
Apostolicam Actuositatem, 9.[181] Paul VI, Discourse to the Committee for the International Women's Year (April 18,
1975): AAS 67 (1975), 266.[182] Propositio 46.[183] Propositio 47.[184] Ibid.[185] Gaudium et Spes, 10[186] The
encyclical letter Redemptoris Mater, after having recalled that the "Marian dimension of the Christian life takes on a
particular importance in relation to women and their status," states: "In fact, femininity has a unique relationship with the
mother of the Redeemer, a subject which can be studied in greater depth elsewhere. Here I simply wish to note that the
example of Mary of Nazareth sheds light on womanhood as such by the very fact that God, in the sublime event of the
incarnation of His Son, entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a woman. It can thus be said that
women, by looking to Mary, find in her the secret of living their femininity with dignity and of achieving their own true
advancement. In the light of Mary, the Church sees in women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest
sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the totality of the gift of self in love; the strength that is capable of
bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition
with words, support and encouragement" (John Paul II, encyclical letter Redemptoris Mater, 46: AAS 79 [1987], 424-
425) [187] John Paul II, apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem, 16.[188] Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
Declaration on the Question of Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood Inter Insigniores (Oct. 15, 1976): AAS
69 (1977), 98-116.[189] Cf. Mulieris Dignitatem, 26.[190] Ibid., 27; "The Church is a differentiated body, in which each
individual has a role; the tasks are distinct, and must not be confused; they do not favor the superiority of one over the
other, nor do they provide an excuse for jealousy; the only better gift, which can and must be desired in love (cf. 1 Cor
12- 13). The greatest in the kingdom of heaven are not the ministers but the saints" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the

84

Faith, Declaration on the Question of Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood Inter Insigniores [Oct. 15, 1976],
6: AAS 69 [1977], 115).[191] Paul VI, Discourse to the Committee for the International Women's Year (April 18, 1975):
AAS 67 (1975), 266.[192] Propositio 47.[193] Ibid.[194] Lumen Gentium, 36.[195] Familiaris Consortio, 50: AAS 74
(1982), 141-142.[196] Propositio 46.[197] Propositio 47.[198] The Seventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops (1987), Per Concilii Semitas as Poplum Dei Nuntius, 12.[199] Propositio 53.[200] John Paul II, apostolic letter
Salvifici Doloris, 3: AAS 76 (1984), 203.[201] St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Ephesios, VII, 2: S. Ch. 10, 64.[202] Salvifici
Doloris, 31: AAS 76 (1984), 249-250.[203]  St. Ambrose, De Virginitate, VI, 34: PL 16, 288; cf. St. Augustine, Sermo
CCCIV, III, 2: PL 38, 1396.[204] Cf. Pius XII, apostolic constitution Provida Mater (Feb. 2, 1947): AAS 39 (1947), 114-
124; Code of Canon Law, Can. 573.[205] Propositio 6.[206] Cf. Paul VI, apostolic letter Sabaudiae Gemma (Jan. 29,
1967): AAS 59 (1967), 113-123.[207] St. Francis de Sales, Introduction a la Vie devote, I, III: Oeuvres Completes,
Monastere de la Visitation, Annecy 1983, III, 19-21.[208] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.[209] Propositio 40.[210] Dabit
vitutem, qui contulit dignitatem! (St. Leo the Great, Serm. II, 1: S. Ch. 200, 248).[211] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.[212]
Gaudium et Spes, 43; cf. also, Ad Gentes, 21; Evangelii Nuntiandi, 20: AAS 68 (1976), 19.[213] John Paul II, Discourse
to the Participants in the National Congress of Church Movements of Cultural Responsibility (MEIC) (Jan. 16, 1982), 2:
Insegnamenti, V, 1 (1982), 131; also letter to Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, secretary of state, establishing the Pontifical
Council for Culture (May 20, 1982): AAS 74 (1982), 685; Discourse to the community of the University of Louvain (May
20, 1985), 2: Insegnamenti, VIII, 1 (1985), 1591.[214] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.[215] Propositio 22; cf. also Sollicitudo
Rei Socialis, 41: AAS 80 (1988), 570-572.[216] Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.[217] St. Methodius of Olympus, Symposion
III, 8: S. Ch. 95, 110.[218] Cf. Propositio 11.[219] Propositio 40.[220] Cf. Propositio 44.[221] Cf. Propositio 45.[222]
Propositio 44.[223] Propositio 41.[224] Propositio 42.

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